Utah football has struggled over the last month following a promising start to the 2024 college football season.

The Utes (4-4, 1-4 Big Ten) opened the season with four consecutive wins, beating Southern Utah, Baylor, Utah State and then-No. 15 Oklahoma State. However, they have been in a freefall since, losing to Arizona, Arizona State, TCU and Houston over the last five weeks.

Starting quarterback Cam Rising was hurt in Week 2, and Isaac Wilson ― the younger brother of NFL quarterback Zach Wilson ― took the reins. However, following back-to-back wins with Wilson starting, the Utes have scored just 50 points over the last four games. Rising is out indefinitely.

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With Utah heading into a bye week during Week 10, Brandon Rose, whom Wilson beat out for the No. 2 role, took over during the loss to Houston and could emerge from the open week as the starter.

Utah returns to action in Week 11 with a Big 12 road game at No. 12 BYU. Here’s what you need to know about the Utes’ remaining schedule:

Does Utah football play today?

No, Utah football does not play this week. It will be on the second of its two bye weeks during Week 10 of the 2024 college football season. The Utes return to action in Week 11 against No. 12 BYU. They began the season as one of the favorites to win the Big 12 but have lost four in a row after a 4-0 start.

Utah will close the season with four games, including the season finale with UCF. The Utes’ first bye week was during Week 6.

Watch select Utah football games live with Fubo (free trial)

Utah football schedule 2024

Here’s a full look at the Utes’ schedule in 2024:

All times Eastern.

• Thursday, Aug. 29: vs. Southern Utah (W, 49-0)
• Saturday, Sept. 7: vs. Baylor (W, 23-12)*
• Saturday, Sept. 14: at Utah State (W, 38-21)
• Saturday, Sept. 21: at No. 14 Oklahoma State (W, 22-19)*
• Saturday, Sept. 28: vs. Arizona (L, 23-10)*
• Saturday, Oct. 5: BYE
• Friday, Oct. 11: at Arizona State* (L, 27-19)
• Saturday, Oct. 19: vs. TCU* (L, 13-7)
• Saturday, Oct. 26: at Houston* (L, 17-14)
• Saturday, Nov. 2: BYE
• Saturday, Nov. 9: vs. No. 12 BYU* | ESPN (Fubo, ESPN+)
• Saturday, Nov. 16: at Colorado*
• Saturday, Nov. 23: vs. No. 10 Iowa State*
• Friday, Nov. 29: at UCF* | 8 p.m. | Fox (Fubo)
• Record: 4-4, 2-4 Big 12

* Denotes Big 12 game

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The Utah Utes have been hit with some challenging quarterback news as backup Sam Huard has been ruled out for the remainder of the season following surgery. Head coach Kyle Whittingham revealed the news on KSL’s Sports Zone, noting that Huard’s physical limitations post-surgery have ended his year prematurely.

Huard’s sidelining is particularly disappointing given his recent upward trajectory within the team. Just after the Arizona State game, he was promoted to third-string quarterback, indicating he was gaining ground in the quarterback room. Unfortunately, Huard’s surgery followed shortly after, halting his progression. Having joined the program in the summer, Huard had limited time to establish himself fully in Utah’s offensive system, but his potential was evident. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound quarterback arrived in Utah as a highly regarded recruit, ranked as the No. 3 quarterback prospect in the 2021 recruiting class after an impressive high school career at Kennedy Catholic in Washington.

Huard, who transferred from Cal Poly to Utah, saw the Utes as the ideal platform to showcase his skills at the Power Five level. His absence leaves the Utes with only two active quarterbacks, Isaac Wilson and Brandon Rose, both of whom are vying for the backup role.

The timing of Huard’s injury and surgery is another setback for the Utes, who are already managing the absence of starting quarterback Cam Rising, also recovering from a season-ending injury. Whittingham mentioned that during the team’s bye week, Wilson and Rose have been sharing reps, competing head-to-head for the backup position.

With a pivotal matchup against the ninth-ranked BYU Cougars in the Holy War on November 9, Whittingham aims to finalize the quarterback hierarchy by Monday, allowing the chosen player time to prepare thoroughly. While the Utes take a brief respite over the weekend, the urgency to establish a clear quarterback structure will be front and center as they return to practice, gearing up for one of the season’s most intense rivalries.

As we approach Election Day 2024, Utah lawmakers are rightly considering policy reforms to address housing affordability in Utah. According to Sutherland Institute’s voter priority poll from earlier this year, housing affordability is at the top of voters’ list of issues that will influence their vote this year.

As Utah policymakers consider reforms, one stands out for its promise — borne out by the evidence — to significantly address the costs of housing without requiring a dime in taxpayer subsidies: promoting light-touch density (LTD) housing.

A new study released by the American Enterprise Institute’s Housing Center confirms how a modest increase in density can ignite housing abundance and rein in surging home prices.

The Housing Center studied the 230,000+ single-family detached (SFD) homes that were constructed between 2000 and 2023 and found that the median home sat on one-quarter acre. If the median lot size were one-sixth of an acre instead, 145,000 additional homes for families would have been built. With slightly smaller lots and living areas, their price would be about 10% less, thereby improving affordability. The additional supply and price of these new homes would have reduced price pressures more broadly.

If 20% of this SFD land had been used for townhomes instead, the number of new homes built from 2000-2023 would have grown to 476,000 — more than double what was actually built. At the median lot size, these townhomes would have still accommodated family-sized living areas, but they would have sold for about 30% less than a single-family home on a quarter-acre lot. Importantly, all these additional homes would have been provided by the private market, with zero housing subsidies required. This approach to housing is called light-touch density (LTD).

Utahns are rightfully proud of their homeownership rate of 71.2%, which is 12th highest among the states and about seven percentage points above the national average. However, the homeownership rate for homes built from 2010-2021 in Utah was only 66%. Meaningfully, 89% of the extra homes built with LTD would have been owner occupied.

But the past is past. What do we do today? As reported by the Housing Center, in 2023 it was harder for blue-collar workers to buy an entry-level home in Utah than in any other state, including California. In its recent Utah Housing Market Update, Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute’s “projections indicate Utah will grow from 3.5 to 4 million residents between 2024-2033, an average annual growth rate of 1.5%.” This would be nearly double the recent level of new-home construction permits.

As the saying goes, the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is today. Going forward, pursuing an LTD approach would double the number of single-family homes currently being permitted for construction in Utah — providing 200,000 additional and more affordable homes over 10 years.

Where to start? First, the Utah Legislature should allow small lot development by-right — not requiring discretionary approval from cities — by setting lot size minimums for single-family homes at 5,000 square feet and for townhomes at 1,000 square feet. Second, lawmakers should avoid poison pills like unrealistically low floor area ratios, unrealistically high parking requirements and affordable housing mandates.

But isn’t it wrong to interfere with municipal zoning prerogatives? The answer is no for two reasons.

First, municipalities have largely failed to act, notwithstanding having had decades to address this burgeoning crisis. Second, these legislative actions would promote long-ignored principles of the Utah Constitution. This includes Article 1, Section 1: “All persons have the inherent and inalienable right to acquire, possess and protect property.” It also includes Article 1, Section 27: “Frequent recurrence to fundamental principles is essential to the security of individual rights and the perpetuity of free government.”

In short, these rights are inherent and inalienable to people, not to cities or the state. Framed in this manner, these suggested legislative actions seem both logical and compelling. The LTD approach to housing would be largely unnoticeable to current homeowners due to its modest changes, but its positive impact would eliminate Utah’s housing shortfall and rein in crushingly high home prices. As elected officials consider how to enact that mandate given them by voters this year, promoting light-touch density housing should be high on their priority list.

Edward J. Pinto is senior fellow and co-director at American Enterprise Institute’s Housing Center.